Khanh Hoa Province Chairman directs strict handling of raft selling 1kg of boxfish for 3.5 million VND

Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tan Tuan has directed Nha Trang City People's Committee to strictly handle the case of a raft in Nha Trang selling 1kg of boxfish for 3.5 million VND.

The processed boxfish dish mentioned in the traveler's article

After Tuoi Tre Online published the article "Rafts in Nha Trang sell 1kg of coffin fish for 3.5 million VND, tourists are stunned", on the morning of April 5, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Tan Tuan contacted and discussed with Tuoi Tre Online some contents surrounding this article.

Contact the guest to apologize

An article circulating on Facebook accused a floating raft on Nha Trang Bay in Khanh Hoa of "ripping off" customers.

Mr. Tuan said he has directed the Nha Trang City People's Committee to urgently carry out a number of tasks including: checking whether the above floating rafts are allowed to operate food and beverage businesses; thoroughly inspecting the canoes taking tourists to sightseeing spots and floating rafts on Nha Trang Bay.

He also requested the Nha Trang City People's Committee to contact the tourist who paid the bill of 2.78 million VND, including the boxfish priced at 3.5 million VND/kg, to return the money and apologize to the state management responsibility for allowing the incident to occur.

"If upon inspection this raft does not have a business function, Nha Trang City People's Committee must handle the administrative violation," said Mr. Tuan.

On the same day, Mr. Nguyen Van Minh - Vice Chairman of Nha Trang City People's Committee - said that the interdisciplinary inspection team is still working with relevant parties on the above contents.

Regarding the fact that floating rafts in Nha Trang Bay charge "commission" to canoes carrying passengers to the rafts, leading to an increase in seafood prices on the rafts, Mr. Minh said that this was an agreement between the raft owners and the passengers.

On the evening of May 2, Facebook spread an article titled "If you haven't been there, you don't know Nha Trang. Only after returning will you understand the saying "don't listen to the taxi driver's story, don't listen to the cyclo driver's explanation" or they will take you to a remote island... Just got to the fishing village, so scared, I asked to go home."

The article is accompanied by a picture of the bill for food and drinks totaling 2.78 million VND for two guests. Notably, the single boxfish costs 3.5 million VND/kg, 0.5kg costs 1.75 million VND.

How much does boxfish cost on the market?

Boxfish live in the waters of the Central provinces - Photo: NGUYEN HOANG

Also on the morning of May 4, Tuoi Tre Online surveyed many seafood restaurants in Nha Trang City, recording that 1kg of boxfish costs from 1.2 to 1.8 million VND.

Mr. Le Van Anh (46 years old, owner of a seafood restaurant on Tran Phu street) said that cobra fish is relatively difficult to find on the market, restaurants have to order from traders in Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan provinces.

According to Mr. Anh, restaurants usually sell boxfish for 1.2 - 1.8 million VND/kg, including processing costs.

"Diners are also very careful. When they spend a relatively large amount of money to eat boxfish, the fish must be delicious, firm, and caught in the wild," said Mr. Anh.

Mr. Tran Huy Thong (42 years old, manager of a restaurant on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street) said that in recent years, boxfish has been very "hot" on the market, many people are looking to buy it to eat, so the price has also been pushed up.

"Even though it is sought after, 1kg of boxfish only costs from 1.2 to 2 million VND, which is high. If sold at that price, it will still make a good profit," said Mr. Thong.

The article "Rafts in Nha Trang sell 1kg of coffin fish for 3.5 million VND, tourists are shocked" also received many comments from readers of Tuoi Tre Online , in which many readers said that the responsibility of the leader should be attached when incidents of "ripping off" tourists occur in the area.

"Should always be attached to the responsibility of the leader" - reader Ba Hung commented.

Reader Tuan Quang commented, "Nha Trang is a tourist destination that I really like, but the management, people's mobilization, community awareness... in recent years have been very poor, especially the problem of ripping off tourists because they think they only meet tourists once so they "take advantage" to rip them off.

Requesting the authorities to handle this seriously. We hope Nha Trang understands this so that tourists will love Nha Trang and come back."

"Every time there is a price gouging incident like this, the image of Nha Trang brand gradually fades in the hearts of tourists. It's sad. There needs to be strong solutions to end these ugly images" - reader Ho Ngoc Ha commented.

Read more Back to Topics

NGUYEN HOANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chu-tich-tinh-khanh-hoa-chi-dao-xu-nghiem-vu-be-ban-1kg-ca-bo-hom-3-5-trieu-dong-20250504103922341.htm